Why it works: Nuts and lettuce work together. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 174 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓
Marshmallow Nut Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Quarter the marshmallows and chop the nuts into coarse pieces.
Combine marshmallows, nuts, and enough salad dressing to achieve a firm yet creamy mixture.
Chill the dressing before mixing with marshmallows.
Serve a generous spoonful on a lettuce leaf or a slice of pineapple.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Nuts + lettucetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together174 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Marshmallows
- Provide sweetness and a soft, chewy body once combined with the dressing.
- Nuts
- Add crunch and contrast to the soft, creamy mixture.
- Salad dressing
- Supplies moisture and fat that bind the mixture into a creamy, spoonable texture.
The step that matters
Chilling the dressing before mixing. Cold dressing stays thick, so the marshmallows soften gradually rather than going runny. Add enough dressing for a firm yet creamy mixture, not a loose one.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
You might also like
Chicken Salad623 recipes
Salad Dressing491 recipes
Tomato Salad179 recipes
Cold Slaw160 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.